The present invention relates to a disc catching apparatus for use in playing a flying disc game.
Flying disc golf games have recently been placed on courses laid out in parks or other recreational areas. A flying disc golf course comprises a number of holes, each comprising a tee from which a flying disc is originally thrown by each player. The holes include a post placed at a selected distance from the tee and adapted to capture the flying disc if the disc is thrown so as to impinge upon the hole to allow the disc to fall into a basket attached to the post. In playing the golf game, the flying disc is first thrown from the tee in the direction of the post and sometimes around predetermined obstacles. The disc is then picked up by the player at the point at which it lands and is again thrown in the direction of the post. The process is continued until the disc strikes the post supported disc stopping members. Scoring is by tabulating the number of throws required to place the thrown disc into the basket supported on the post.
In prior flying disc golf games, a problem has arisen with difficulty of seeing the post and basket in low light, such as on heavily overcast days, in the evenings or just before dark, so that the game is stopped anytime the light gets too low for playing. It is accordingly an aim of the present invention to provide a flying disc golf game which can be played in low light levels as well as in the evening. It is also an object to provide a hole for a flying disc golf game which can be easily injection molded and readily assembled at a price suitable for an individual to place at least one or more of the capturing post in his yard for practicing after work and at a price easily affordable by an individual.
Typical prior art U.S. patents which relate to a flying disc golf game can be seen in the U.S. Pat. No. to Headrick et al., No. 4,039,189, for an entrapment device which is provided for use in playing a flying disc golf game and which provides a structure for absorbing the kinetic energy of flying discs thrown at the device to arrest the forward motion of the disc and to cause the disc to be caught by the device. The apparatus in this patent includes a post mounted in the ground having a basket mounted on the post and energy absorbing chains hanging from an upper support so that the chains capture the flying disc and allow it to fall into the basket. A second Headrick U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,484, is also for a flying disc entrapment device and operates in a similar manner but has variations in the chains.
The present invention is an improvement on these prior art patents and other prior art devices for flying disc golf games wherein the post and disc capturing system is adapted to be made from injection molded components and allows the easy spotting of the post in low light or even in the dark by a lamp placed beneath a translucent cover and which shines downward to light the capturing chains and basket. A player can not only see where to throw the disc but can also tell when he has made a hole by the disc hitting the chains and falling into the basket.